Self-aligning rod end bearing



Dec. 8, 1942. p c 2,304,595

SELF-ALIGNING ROD END BEARING Filed June 10, 1941 struction is not only expnsive, but

fragile and is given to rapid wear due to the inrod end"beari ngs for and" also with pr'ovision' forano'fjthe bearing relative to the One important application of the aircraft, both forengine control and the control of themovabl "surfaces of an aircraft,suc'h as the elevators, ailerons andthe' like. However, it

, will beapparent that the present. invention }may be adaptedgfor' many and varied'uses, not only I in connection with control linkages'jfor machines other than aircraft'but ior 'mechanical' linkages o callkindsn deviceofthe' presentjinvention is specially other resilient shock resisting material? Similar of rod end bearing'j'com vantages. In one ltype .monly employed in connection wimaircr'aa, the self-aligning'feature is achieved by mounting the bearing member-proper o'n anti'e'fricti'on'iball or roller bearings within'the housing. This con-' it 'is'r'el'atively' tensive vibration to which it is subjected, such wear being inevitable when directly engaging metal parts are subjected to vibration.

In another type of connection, which is more properly called a rod end joint than a bearing, the member connecting with the rocker arm or bell crank lever is mounted in rubber or similar material within a housing which in turn is connected to the push-pull link, the rubber being bonded to both of the adjacent metal parts, or bonded to one of them and frictionally gripped by the other, so that all relative movements between the housing and the connecting member involved formation of the rubber mounting, and such relative movements are restricted to the permissible limits of such deformation. This type of device is disadvantageous first, in that no provision is made for rotary movement between the connecting member of the joint and the adapted for use in' applications whereserio'tis viq-brationis encountered, and to that, en'dthe beari mem er. DToper i'Sl supported-"in rubber or- This'linvention relate'sto self-aligningbe'arings 1 and moreparticularlyto I o connectingalink of'a push-pull control or'other linkageto, a'rocker arm, bell crank levefr' or other element of the linkage, withprovisionfor rotary a movement between the. bearing and the crank pin a orptherconnecting-element of the rocker arm or belllcra'nk lever, --gular movement 1 -i't-engages-;and-,=. secq l l ofthe rubbermoun ie f-angular onrrot'at ne nd p as m n of 15' e I mg theQ'rubberU-in sucha present in- I A vention isinconnection with cont'r'ol'linkages for a '15.

i in a housing-,; the. .bear g possess seri'ou's"=-disadcrank pinior'other connecting-element,with'which because'the deformation hich is involved in any si esults, in stresso cause the eturn the several nectingmember-anglthe latter to have. a]. endency elements" ofthe linkage to ir neutral'jfposition.

i The device of the presen inver' tionv avoids the "aforementioned 5; disadvantages providing a bearing member; adapted to, .rotatably'. receive a "crank" pinfzor other elementadapted to have relative rotationtherewith, saidlbearing member being'movably, mounted. in a body ,.of rubber or -similar:resilient materml which isjnltuin' carried member. .bein'g1slidab1e er, body so that it may 1 rfmove'into alignment-w th the crank p i 1 1 only to the extentoizfih d'evices heretofore used havej'been generally of two -.types, both of; which toone skilled in; the art from 'scriptio'n 1-'taken,-:;in c,onnect ionelementrwithoutdeforming the rubbe r. The latter 20 is therefore not" stressed, except; temporarily .during relative movements of the two parts. and'then tional forces acting tendency forthe rubtherebetween; There;v is

vlier to urge thelinkage ;-into neutral position and,

. obviously, m ber will" have: a longer the case if theIIrubber M the same-time, the. rubber; member- .serves to insulate the bearing member; against vibration and shock.= I Q L other and further objects, features and advantages" of; the-present invention will be apparent he following dewith the accompanying-drawingin-which- I 4 Figure 1 is 1a1schemat1c-y1ew illustrat ng one application of a self-aligning rod end bearing according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an axial section through a bearing constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 is a side view partly in elevation and partlyin section of the rod end bearing of the present invention; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the plane of Figure 2, but illustrating a slight modification of the device of Figure 2 and showing the bearing member in elevation.

In order to facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference is made to the embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptive language is employed. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the invention is thereby intended and that various changes and alterations are contemplated such as would ordinarily occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring to Figure 1, the reference character It) designates a link such as a tension or compression member of a control linkage or the like,

which is adapted to transmit movement through a bell crank lever H to a further link H. The link l and bell crank lever II are connected, as best seen in Figure 2, by means of the bearing of the present invention which is designated generally by the reference character N.

The bearing l3 comprises an annular housing Id of metal, provided with a shank l5 which is preferably made integral with the housing H. The shank I5 is threaded internally to receive the correspondingly threaded end of the link Ill. The housing I4 is provided at one of its lateral faces with an inwardly projecting annular flange l6. Supported within the housing I4 is an annular bushing ll of rubber or other suitable re.- silient material, which is retained in place by means of the flange and a spring washer l8 which may be inserted after the rubber bushing is in place within the housing, and may be retained by turning over the adjacent inner edge of the housing 14 as indicated at Hi. In the modification illustrated in Figure 4, that face of the housing which is to receive the washer I8 is recessed as at l9, and the washer I8 is adapted to be secured in said recess with a pressed flt.

In order to enhance the resiliency of the rubberbushing H, as well as to facilitate assembly of the device, the outer periphery of the bushing may be provided with spaced transversely extending recesses as at 20 in Figure 3. The inner periphery of the rubber bushing I1 is provided with a parti-spherical surface, and serves to support and retain a parti-spherical bearing mem-. ber 2| which is provided with a central transverse aperture to receive a pin, shaft or the like designated by the numeral 22. Preferably, an anti-friction bushing 23 is provided to minimize friction between the bearing member 2| and the pin 22, but this is not essential.

The rubber bushing I! may, if desired, be placed under some compression duringthe aswhich a rotatable pin, shaft, or other element is to be accommodated in a rod end bearing.

The expression parti-spherical" as employed above and in the appended claims, refers to a surface or a member having a surface corresponding to'that portion of a spherical surface lying between two parallel planes intersecting the sphere.-

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired .to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A selfvaligning rod end bearing comprising an annular housing having a shank, an annular bushing of resilient material secured within said housing, and a arti-spherical bearing member movably mounted in said bushing and having sliding engagement therewith, whereby said bearing member may move relative to said bushing without displacing or deforming the material of said bushing, said bearing member being apertured to receive a shaft.

2. A self-aligning rod end bearing comprising an annular housing having a shank and having an inwardly extending annularflange adjacent one of its lateral faces, a bushing of resilient material within said housing, a washer adapted to cooperate with said housing to retain said bushing between said flange and said washer, and a parti-spherical bearing member movably mounted in said bushing and having sliding engagement therewith, whereby said bearing member may move relative to said bushing without displacing or deforming the material of said bushing, said bearing member being apertured to receive a shaft.

3. A self-aligning rod end bearing comprising an annular housing having a shank, an annular sembly of the device, in, order to ensure close bushing of resilient material secured within said housing, said bushing having a parti-spherical inner surface, and a parti-spherical bearing member movably mounted in said bushing and having sliding engagement therewith, whereby said bearing member may move relative to said bushing without displacing or deforming the material of said bushing, said bearing member being apertured to receive a shaft.

4. A self-aligning rod end bearing comprising an annular housing having a shank, an annular bushing of resilient material secured within said housing, and a parti-spherical bearing member movably mounted in said bushing and having sliding engagement therewith, whereby said bearing member may move relative to said bushing without displacing or deforming the material of said bushing, said bearing member being apertured and bushed to receive a shaft.

EARL E. PREN'I'ICE. 

